The Baseball Buffet for 7/30/2025

Issue #351

The goal with The Baseball Buffet series is to provide the best daily dose of relevant baseball info in a smart-brevity format (mostly short bullets, getting to the point, with quick analysis/insights.) Think of it like what baseball fans of a certain age would look forward to in their morning newspaper’s sports section each day!

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The 125th day of the season featured a full slate of Tuesday games:

• TOR 4, BAL 16 (Gm 1) - The Blue Jays had 11 hits, including Addison Barger hitting a HR in the 4th inning, and Joey Loperfido going 3-4 with a HR in the 8th. But those numbers don’t compare well with the 19 hits and 16 runs the Orioles put up, as all four Toronto hurlers did poorly (including one non-pitcher, catcher Ali Sanchez, in the ninth). Tyler O’Neill went 2-3 with a HR, a walk, and 4 RBI; Ramón Urías was 3-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI; Gunnar Henderson was 3-4 with a HR, a walk, and 4 RBI; Jordan Westburg was 4-6 with 2 doubles and 4 runs scored; and Ramon Laureano was 3-5 with 4 runs scored. Sheesh.

• TOR 2, BAL 3 (Gm 2) - After all of the offense in game one, the nightcap was more subdued. The score was tied 2-2 after four innings and stayed that way through seven. Andrew Kittredge kept the Blue Jays from scoring in the top of the eighth, while the Orioles scored one in the bottom of the frame when Adley Rutschman hit a double to drive in Gunnar Henderson from second. Baltimore brought in Corbin Martin for the ninth, and he hit one batter and walked another, but then got three outs including two via strikeout to earn his first save of the season.

• COL 4, CLE 10 - Logan Allen let up solo homers to Jordan Beck and Michael Toglia, but otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). Meanwhile, his teammates jumped all over Tanner Gordon (3 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and actually scored runs in each of the first six innings. Overall they tallied 15 hits, with Kyle Manzardo going 3-4 with 2 HR, a walk, and 3 RBI; Nolan Jones 2-3 with a double; and Brayan Rocchio 2-4 with a triple and 2 RBI.

• AZ 2, DET 12 - Casey Mize didn’t last long (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K), including giving up a triple to Corbin Carroll, his MLB-leading 14th of the year. But then four Tigers relievers shut out the D-Backs the rest of the way, while Detroit’s batters tallied 19 hits and 12 runs. Riley Greene was 3-5 with a HR and 2 doubles; Zach McKinstry was 2-4 with a HR, a double and 4 RBI; Gleyber Torres was 2-5 with a HR; Kerry Carpenter was 3-5 with 2 doubles; and Wenceel Perez was 3-5 with a triple, a double, and four runs scored.

• TBR 5, NYY 7 - The Rays outhit the Yankees 7-6, but they were 1-10 with runners in scoring position. Max Fried struck out nine (6.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K), with Jonathan Aranda hitting a solo HR off him in the third inning. Cody Bellinger hit his 20th HR, Anthony Volpe hit his 15th, and Devin Williams let up a run in the ninth but still garnered his 17th save of the year.

• PHI 6, CHW 3 - Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh both hit 2-run HR in the third inning, giving the Phillies an early 6-0 lead. Jesús Luzardo pitched a good game (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), and although the Sox scored three including Lenyn Sosa hitting a 2-run HR in the bottom of the ninth, it wouldn’t be enough.

• LAD 5, CIN 4 - Tommy Edman hit a 2-run HR in the second inning, but Nick Lodolo otherwise pitched pretty well with an impressive 11 strikeouts (5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 B, 11 K). Tyler Glasnow allowed two homers in the fourth inning to Jake Fraley and Noelvi Marte, but then five Dodgers relievers held the Reds scoreless the rest of the way. The game was tied 4-4 after eight, and the Dodgers scored what would be the decisive run in the top of the ninth when Will Smith doubled to left to drive in James Outman. Alex Vesia struck out two in the bottom of the frame to secure his 4th save.

• BOS 8, MIN 5 - After hitting a single in the first inning, Carlos Correa left the game early due to light-headedness. Brooks Lee replaced him at SS, and went on to have quite a game going 3-4 with 2 HR and driving in all five Twins runs. Unfortunately, Minnesota overall was only 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left 9 runners on base. Trevor Story was 2-5 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI, and Jarren Duran was 2-4 with a HR, a double, and a walk. Lucas Giolito pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and Aroldis Chapman came in for just the last out to get his 19th save.

• ATL 6, KCR 9 - The Braves got homers from Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna in the sixth inning to drive Seth Lugo (5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) from the game. And they outhit the Royals 14-12 overall, but were only 3-14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. For Kansas City, Vinnie Pasquantino was 3-5 with a HR, a double, and 2 RBI; Bobby Witt was 2-4 with a walk and 2 RBI; and Carlos Estevez pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 28th save.

• CHC 3, MIL 9 - The Brewers took game two of this important NL Central series, with Quinn Priester pitching well enough (5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and Aaron Ashby doing the same the rest of the way (3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K). The big hitter of the night was Andrew Vaughn who was 3-4 with a grand slam and 6 RBI in total. Also contributing were William Contreras who was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs, and Jackson Chourio who was 2-3 with a triple and a run.

• MIA 5, STL 0 - Miami’s 3B Graham Pauley got the Marlins on the board with a 2-run HR in the second. They scored a few more runs later, and that was plenty as Sandy Alcantara pitched well in what might be his last game with the Marlins if he gets traded as expected (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K).

• WAS 4, HOU 7 - CJ Abrams went 3-4 with a double, a walk, and 3 SB, and Luis Garcia Jr. went 2-5 with a 2-run HR. But that wasn’t enough as Houston tallied 13 hits, including Yainer Diaz who was 3-4 with a HR and 2 runs; Mauricio Dubón who was 3-3 with a walk; and Christian Walker who was 2-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. Astros closer Josh Hader struck out three in the ninth to lock down his 28th save.

• PIT 3, SFG 1 - The Giants scored first with a solo HR by Willy Adames in the fourth. Bailey Falter otherwise pitched fairly well (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K), and so did Justin Verlander (5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), finally allowing a HR in the fifth inning to Liover Peguero. The Pirates tallied 12 hits in all, including a series of singles in the 8th that produced two runs that were the difference in the game. Braxton Ashcraft pitched three scoreless innings in relief, and Dennis Santana struck out two in the ninth for his 6th save.

• TEX 5, LAA 8 - The Rangers outhit the Angels by a wide margin of 14-6, but they were all spread out singles with the exception of two solo HR by catcher Kyle Higashioka. The Angels got the most out of their lesser production, with Jo Adell going 2-3 with a triple and a walk, and Gustavo Campero going 1-3 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. LA closer Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 20th save of the year.

• NYM 1, SDP 7 - Sean Manaea pitched well through five innings (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), but then reliever José Buttó struggled, including giving up a 3-run HR to Manny Machado in the seventh. Five Padres relievers pitched scoreless innings and together with starter Ryan Bergert (4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) held the Mets to just four hits and one run.

• SEA 1, ATH 6 - Logan Evans struck out 7 in 4.2 innings, but also gave up 7 hits and 6 runs. This included Brent Rooker’s 22nd HR of the season and Shea Langeliers going 2-4 with a HR and a double. Meanwhile, Luis Severino pitched well (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and three Athletics relievers kept the Mariners off the board the rest of the way. The only highlight for Seattle really was Randy Arozarena stealing his 20th base of the season, which paired with his 20 HR this year is already the fifth time the 30-year old has had a 20/20 season.

Standings

I am providing current standings as part of The Baseball Buffet (regular standings by division most days, wild-card standings on Wednesdays.) The image below is a modified version of the text-based standings at Plain Text Sports, and here also is a link to the official standings at MLB.com.

Notes:

• The AL East tightened a bit, as the Blue Jays lost both games of their double-header with Baltimore, while the Yankees and Red Sox both won.

• In the AL West, the Astros snapped their five-game losing streak while Seattle and Texas both lost.

• Can the Cubs avoid a sweep and going down three to the Brewers in the NL Central?

Today’s Trivia Question

Here is another tribute to Cubs great Ryne Sandberg, who passed away on Monday at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. Sandberg was a great hitter, but he was also a great defensive 2B, winning 9 Gold Glove Awards. Only one 2B had more Gold Glove Awards with 10… can you name him? (Bonus points if you can name the two 2B who are next on the list with 8 gold glove awards each.)

Who’s on the move?

In this section I won’t list 26th-man moves, or every time a team shuttles relievers back and forth to AAA to keep a stock of fresh arms in the bullpen. I’ll focus on the biggest, more impactful demotions, promotions, and injury list changes (for a full list, see all the latest MLB transactions).

➕ Sent on a Rehab Assignment

• DET SP Alex Cobb

• CLE RP Trevor Stephan

• KCR RP Daniel Lynch IV

• HOU RP Shawn Dubin

• WAS RF Dylan Crews

• CIN SP Hunter Greene

• LAD 3B Max Muncy

• STL 2B Nolan Gorman

• PIT SP Johan Oviedo

• AZ RP Jalen Beeks

• BAL SP Kyle Bradish

• CHC C Miguel Amaya

🤕 Placed on the IL

• BAL RP Colin Selby - 15-day IL (left hamstring strain)

• LAD 2B Hyeseong Kim - 10-day IL (left shoulder bursitis)

• MIN CF Byron Buxton - 10-day IL (left ribcage inflammation)

• ATL OF Ronald Acuña Jr. - 10-day IL (achilles tightness)

• ATH SS Jacob Wilson - 10-day IL (fractured forearm)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• CIN CF TJ Friedl

➡️ Traded

• The Miami Marlins traded C Nick Fortes to the Tampa Bay Rays for LF Matthew Etzel (AA level).

• The Baltimore Orioles traded RHP Seranthony Dominguez and cash—during the doubleheader yesterday—to their opponents the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Juaran Watts-Brown (A+, AA level).

MLB Debut

• MIA OF/1B Troy Johnston - The 28-year old started at 1B and batted seventh in the lineup, going 1-2 with a single and a run scored before coming out for pinch-hitter Dane Myers. Before the call-up, Johnston had 12 HR and 31 SB with a .252 average for AAA Jacksonville.

• MIN SP Pierson Ohl - The 25-year old started the game yesterday against the Red Sox and struck out 4 in 3 innings, but also gave up 5 hits and 4 runs. Before the call-up, Ohl had a 2.17 ERA with 79 K in 66.1 IP of mixed work as a starter and reliever across A, AA, and AAA.

League Leaders

We are down to only seven qualifying players with an OPS over .900 at this point in the season, with only five solidly over that mark.

• 1.160 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .989 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• .981 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• .966 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• .966 - LAD Will Smith

• .959 - MIA Kyle Stowers

• .904 - MIN Byron Buxton

• .898 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• .889 - TOR George Springer

• .888 - CLE José Ramírez

• .881 - CHC Michael Busch

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history (for a longer list, see the feature at the Baseball Almanac or the Bullpen feature at Baseball-Reference.com):

📅 On July 30…

• 1959: Willie McCovey has a great MLB debut performance. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In his major league debut, Willie McCovey goes 4 for 4 with two triples off Robin Roberts to lead the Giants to a 7-2 win over the Phils. McCovey was hitting .372 with 29 home runs at Phoenix when promoted.”

• 1973: Jim Bibby throws a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Rangers' Jim Bibby no-hits first-place Oakland, 6-0, while teammate Jeff Burroughs hits the second of three grand slams in a ten-day period (July 26th-August 4th). Bibby, who came to Texas in a June 6th trade with the Cardinals, strikes out 13 batters.”

• 1978: The Expos beat the Braves 19-0 backed by 28 hits and 8 HR. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Expos crush the Braves, 19-0, collecting 28 hits and a National League-record-tying eight home runs. Andre Dawson, Larry Parrish, Dave Cash and Dawson again homer in the 4th inning; Parrish has a single and three consecutive home runs in the game, only the third major leaguer to do it. Not till Andres Galarraga in 1995 will another hitter bang homers in three consecutive innings. The 58 total bases break an 85-year-old record held by the Reds. Woodie Fryman conducts the win over Mickey Mahler.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Casey Stengel (1890) played in the major leagues from 1912-1925, spending time with five National League clubs: Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. A RF and CF, Stengel had 10+ triples four times and 10+ SB six times. Overall, he had a .284/.356/.410 slash line and a 120 OPS+. Stengel of course is in the Baseball Hall of Fame not for his time as a player, but rather his 25 years a manager, spanning from 1934-1965. He started out with Brooklyn and Boston in the National League, but then had his greatest success with the Yankees from 1949-1960, during which time he led them to ten pennants and eight World Series championships. Nicknamed “The Old Perfessor,” he was famous for his odd and disjointed style of speech, and is perhaps the second most quoted baseball personality of all time, behind only his long-time Yankees catcher Yogi Berra.

• Doug Rader (1944) had an 11-year major league career from 1967-1977, mostly spent with the Astros. He was outstanding defensively at 3B, and took home five consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards. Rader also had some pop, hitting 20+ HR three times. Overall he had 155 HR, a .251/.322/.403 slash line, and a 106 OPS+.

• Gus Triandos (1930) had a 13-year major league catching career from 1953-1965, predominantly with the Orioles, but with time also spent with four other clubs. A 3-time All-Star, Triandos had a fair amount of power for a catcher, hitting 20+ three times, including a high of 30 HR in 1958. Overall, he had 167 HR, a .244/.322/.413 slash line, and a 103 OPS+.

• Joe Nuxhall (1928) is of course the answer to a trivia question as the youngest player to ever appear in a major league game, pitching 2/3 of an inning for the Reds on June 10, 1944, at the age of 15 years, 316 days. He rightfully played in the minors for several years after that, returning to the Reds in 1952. He eventually was a 2-time All-Star for Cincinnati, and won 10+ games six times over his 16-year major league career. Overall, Nuxhall had a 135-117 (.536) record, a 3.90 ERA, and a 102 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on July 30 include AZ Jake McCarthy, AZ Justin Martínez, DET Jackson Jobe, CHW Joshua Palacios, SEA Jesse Hahn, and BAL Cody Poteet.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a full slate of Wednesday games (15), so there are lots of possibilities. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• CHC vs. MIL is a critical NL Central series that started with the two teams tied for first place. The Brewers have won the first two, so the Cubs would love to avoid the sweep today, and have CHC Shota Imanaga (3.12 ERA, 55 K in 78 IP) going up against Freddy Peralta (2.81 ERA, 131 K in 121.2 IP).

• LAD vs. CIN is interesting of course because Shohei Ohtani is starting for the Dodgers, but also because the Reds are in the hunt for a playoff spot. They are going with Nick Martinez (4.69 ERA, 86 K in 121 IP) for this one.

Also on the hill today are SFG Logan Webb, WAS MacKenzie Gore, NYM Clay Holmes, TEX Nathan Eovaldi, and SEA Bryan Woo.

HR Watch

Predicting who might hit a HR on any given day is a challenge. But here are a few to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 11-31 with 5 HR and 2 doubles vs. BAL Dean Kremer

• BAL Adley Rutschman, 15-28 (.536) with 4 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR José Berríos

• BAL Tyler O’Neill, 5-12 with 2 HR vs. TOR José Berríos

• BAL Cedric Mullins, 9-31 with 2 HR and 3 doubles vs. TOR José Berríos

• BAL Ryan O’Hearn, 12-37 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR José Berríos

• NYY Austin Wells, small sample but is 4-8 with 2 HR and a double vs. TBR Zack Littell

• NYY Anthony Volpe, 5-11 with 2 HR vs. TBR Zack Littell

Hits Watch

If you play MLB’s Beat the Streak mobile game, or otherwise bet on/parlay players to collect hits, I’ll try to provide some good options in this section. In addition to the HR Watch guys listed above, here are some others to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• NYM Starling Marte, 9-23 with a HR and a double vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• AZ Ketel Marte, 7-15 with a double vs. DET Chris Paddack

• CLE Austin Hedges, 6-14 with 2 doubles vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 6-12 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. TBR Zack Littell

• ATH Jacob Wilson, small sample but is 5-8 with 2 doubles vs. SEA Bryan Woo

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 12 - SDP Luis Arraez

• 9 - PIT Tommy Pham

• 9 - SDP Jackson Merrill

• 9 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 8 - WAS Paul DeJong

• 8 - TEX Josh Jung

• 8 - CLE Kyle Manzardo

• 8 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 8 - NYM Mark Vientos

• 8 - TBR Jonny DeLuca

• 7 - SDP Manny Machado

• 7 - CHC Nico Hoerner

• 7 - CLE Steven Kwan

• 7 - MIA Kyle Stowers

Active HR streaks

• 2 - ATL Marcell Ozuna

• 2 - ATL Austin Riley

• 2 - MIL Andrew Vaughn

Who might struggle today?

Betting against any given player to not get a hit is tough, as guys in the starting lineup get at least one hit in a game more often than not. That said, here are some guys who clearly have struggled against their opposing SP today:

• CHC Ian Happ, 2-32 (.063) with 14 K though one hit was a HR vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• CHC Seiya Suzuki, 2-19 with 11 K though one hit was a HR vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• CHC Dansby Swanson, 2-19 with 8 K though one hit was a HR vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• ATH Brent Rooker, 1-17 with 8 K though the hit was a HR vs. SEA Bryan Woo

• ATH Lawrence Butler, 2-15 with 5 K though one hit was a HR vs. SEA Bryan Woo

• BAL Jordan Westburg, 1-12 with 4 K vs. TOR José Berríos

• NYM Jeff McNeil, 3-20 with 4 K though one hit was a HR vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 2-15 with 3 K vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, small sample but is 1-9 with 6 K vs. SFG Logan Webb

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The all-time leaders in Gold Glove Awards at 2B are:

• 10 - Roberto Alomar

• 9 - Ryne Sandberg

• 8 - Bill Mazeroski

• 8 - Frank White

Good Reads

Here I am providing one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

• 15+ year MLB players playing for only one team, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 7/30/2025

• Ryne Sandberg, RIP: Making the Most, by Jeff Kallman at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 7/30/2025

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!

Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.

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